New Sun Rising
by Brinda B
Summary: What happens with the Twilight gang seven years after the events of Breaking Dawn-Renesme and Jacob centered.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own any of the characters, except for the ones I do. Stephenie Meyer is the creator of the Twilight Saga and anything you may recognize in here belongs to her. **

**Now that that's out of the way you should probably know that this is my first fan fiction, and my first time letting people read what I write. Please be gentle with me in your reviews, but I am very welcoming of any constructive criticism you may have to share. The first chapter is a little Bella-centric but later it will be focusing mostly on Jake and Nessie. Also, my computer hates me and it didn't save a bit of what I had written in this chapter, so some parts are a little thin. Enjoy, and don't forget to review.**

**Chapter 1**

Jake walked by, wearing an all too thin t-shirt for the cool day, and snuck a wink at Nessie. "Ridiculous," Bella whispered, "can't he throw on a coat and try to blend in?" The crowd of vampires didn't have to look around to know that every other person in the school yard was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.

Nessie rolled her eyes, "He gets hot Mom, give him a break. He is trying."

"You need to relax Bella," Jasper cautioned.

She was on edge. It was her first day of high school as a blood thirsty, killing machine. She had completed six years of Dartmouth, with Edward at her side, to get her masters degree in English so it wasn't her first time packed in a room with warm blooded, delicious smelling, soft, OFF LIMITS, humans; however, it was the first time in too long. Alice had made a point of taking her shopping three days before they started up at school to prepare her-or at least that was how she had convinced her to go-but now faced with so many delicate humans, it didn't seem like enough.

"What are you thinking?" Edward whispered in her ear.

"I'm thinking that this wasn't a good idea," she whispered back.

"We'll be late if we don't go now," Rosalie was annoyed as per usual, "I hate being late."

"Stop worrying Bella," Alice chimed, "we won't let you hurt anyone. We've been doing this for a very long time."

Bella sucked in her last breath for the day, it was a precaution she had briefly discussed with Edward, and they all put on a smiling face as they walked into the school. Nessie was the only one at ease, she breathed deeply, enjoying the smell of the surrounding humans. It wasn't painful for her as it was to the other Cullen's, she didn't crave the sweet taste of human blood, she simply admired the bouquet, as Edward would have put it. The others' throats ached and burned, their eyes darted from side to side as an automatic response to the uncomfortable burn, and they desired to taste the scent that caused the reaction.

"I'm going to go find Jake," Nessie informed her parents with a smile, "see you at lunch?"

"Okay, just remember..."

"I know, I know, don't worry, I'll be fine." She rolled her eyes again as she walked away.

"...to keep the family safe." Her father finished, and then sighed. "She wasn't like this in Massachusetts."

"She was worse," Alice laughed. "She's just being a teenager Edward, think of it as being in character."

The bell rang for the first class, and the group dispersed.

Bella's first class was English, and despite majoring in the subject for six years, she was excited to revisit her old favorites. The English classroom was small and cluttered. The air was clouded with dust that sparkled like a rainbow under the florescent lights. Shelves and cabinets were stuffed with books and theater props. Bella, curious, risked a small breath. The fire hit her like a wall. The room was saturated with years of human smells, preserved in the musty room. As a precaution she froze. If she didn't move a muscle she could remember who she was. Edward stood by her patiently, waiting for her to be ready to move again.

"Oh," a girl squeaked from behind Bella, "hello." Bella automatically made breathing motions and shifted her feet. Very slowly, with Edward's arm curled around her waist in an iron grip, she turned to greet the girl.

"Hello," Edward's velvet voice was effortless.

"You're new. I mean, I haven't seen you around before. My name is Brittany."

"Yes, we just moved outside of town. I am Edward, and this is Bella."

"Oh, you're the ones who moved into the old Cullen Mansion." Edward nodded and gave a friendly smile-no teeth. The girl blushed; red, sweet, mouthwatering, OFF LIMITS blood colored her face as venom filled Bella's mouth. She had to wonder, not for the first time, how Edward had ever resisted her when normal blood was so enticing. "Um, well, it was-I mean I-I'm," there was no hope of a coherent conversation now, Brittany had been dazzled.

"It was nice meeting you. Bella, shall we find a seat?" Edward led her to the back corner of the room, somewhere where curious eyes would find it hard to see them.

The room quickly became crowded with students, and the class began. To Bella and Edward it dragged on. She had let him into her head so that he could stop her from harming anyone, and the two of them sat carefully monitoring those thoughts until the bell rang.

The wind had picked up since they had arrived at school that morning; the still green leaves were ripped from the trees with the colored ones. Even Emmett could feel the bite in the wind. Jake's hair stood on end, the frost was coming, it always made him edgy. The human's had to feel it too, but it only made them more eager for that day's gym class; like they wanted to make the most of outdoor football while they could. No one complained about the wind or the cold, the humans jumped up and down frequently-Emmett and Jake only slightly less frequently to keep up an image-waiting for the game to start, but no one complained.

The teams were picked, red and blue pinnies handed out, and the whistle was blown to start the game.

Jake picked the ball easily out of the air and loped towards the orange cone that represented the end-zone. He didn't need to run for the humans to have a hard time catching up, his legs were too long. Emmett was standing in the middle of the field, trying to keep his mind out of the game, but when he saw Jake with the ball and the humans struggling to catch up, he couldn't help himself. He bolted, though not as fast as he would like, still fast enough to catch Jake, and planted his hands on Jake's back and pushed a little too hard. Jake fell to the ground and glared up at the grinning Emmett.

On the next play, Emmett intercepted a pass by jumping a little too high. If Jake could push the limits, so could he. The hunter's instinct kicked in, and it was hard for Jake to ignore it; hunting vampires wasn't about food for him, it was about survival. He ran at Emmett with full speed, and tackled him around his middle. Jake's shoulder shattered on impact, but Emmett was caught off guard by the surprise attack, and he fell to the ground. Emmett shoved the grimacing Jake off of him, and Jake shoved back. The scuffle quickly turned into an all out fist fight. The sounds of Jake's bones breaking as he landed and received blows from the rock who was his opponent didn't go unnoticed by their on-looking peers, but they were quickly ignored as neither opponent seemed to notice them.

A whistle blew, one sharp tweet, and the fight was over. Both fighters realized what they had done and separated themselves as the coach ran towards them. Emmett didn't show a scratch, but Jacob was bruised and broken. If he was lucky, he'd be suspended so no one noticed his quick recovery.

"All right boys, get up. You'll be coming with me." The coach was a big man, but not big enough, or imposing enough, to stop the two from fighting if they wanted to.

Emmett glowered at Jake as they both stood. He was going to be in more trouble than Jake was and in his mind it was all the shape-shifter's fault. Why couldn't he have just thrown the game like Emmett had so many times before? Jake glowered right on back, but he just hated Emmett for existing.

The coach made the two boys sit and wait for the principal while he went back to supervise the class. Jake was already mending. His cuts were closed and he was going to have no way of explaining all of the blood. The only solution to that was going to be letting Emmett hit him again, and that wasn't going to happen. So he left it all, hoping no one would notice. Emmett's clothes were just as ripped as Jakes, and his hair was just as messy, but either than that it didn't look like he had even been in a fight. Together they made an odd sight. The seconds dragged on. Jake tried to re-break and set some of his bones, but it made the secretary jump every time so he soon gave up. Carlisle would do it better anyways.

Out of nowhere, Emmett sighed and put his head on his hands, "Rose isn't going to talk to me for a month."

With that confession, the tension broke. Jake busted out laughing, and Emmett chuckled along side him. When the principal came out to talk to them, they were laughing with each other and mock fighting, shoving a little bit and punching one another's arm. They only received a warning and a 'boys-will-be-boys' shrug. On the way out of the office, Jake caught the time, "Shoot, I'm going to be late for lunch." He loped towards the gym locker room leaving Emmett chuckling behind him.

Bella's second class was with Alice. After wards Alice went to find Jasper, but Bella caught sight of Renesme when she passed the cafeteria on the hunt for Edward. Nessie was sitting with the chair tipped backwards, the way Jake always did with only two chair legs on the ground. No matter how many times Bella had told her 'four on the floor', she still insisted on sitting like that. _Well_, she decided, _walking into the cafeteria, what are mothers for if not embarrassing their children._

"Nessie!" Nessie fell back off of her chair, caught off guard, "Sit up straight."

"Thanks _Bella_, c'mon, help me up." She held her arm extended towards her mother, who took it, naively. Nessie pulled her down on top of her to avoid Bella breaking the floor tiles. She could have stopped her fall easily, but not without making the onlookers suspicious. Bella ended up rolling onto the tile floor as Renesme laughed. Without thinking Bella sucked in a breath as she began to laugh too. The fire in her throat started almost before the scent reached her tongue. She didn't know anybody here and no matter how hard she tried her mind would not allow her to understand that these people had parents, friends, people that loved them; all she could think of was the kill, and the taste of blood. It wasn't a taste that she had experienced since becoming a vampire, and even then, the only fresh blood she had ever tasted was her own, this smell was nothing like either of those experiences. It wasn't like what Edward experienced with her and Bella was embarrassed by the thought but it didn't stop her from tasting the air again. It was a drug, and she wanted it so badly. Usually Alice was able to warn the coven if blood was going to be spilled but with Nessie and Jake in the same room, things got past her. It was a struggle to stop breathing, to stop taking in the drug.

"Nessie," she managed to rasp low enough for the humans to not be able to hear, "help," she begged.

Nessie could smell the blood too and knew immediately what was wrong, only a fraction of a second had passed. She looked up panicked and Jake locked eyes with her, he was always there with one eye on her. He saw the panic, he saw the boy sucking the blood from his cut finger, and he saw Bella's coal black eyes. Jake loped over in long strides before any of the human's could compute that something was wrong.

"Hi Nessie," he said pleasantly as he approached, "is this your sister?" He leaned over the two of them. "Let's stand up Bella," he whispered and pulled her up and put his arm around her. "Just like old times hey?"

"You have her?" Nessie asked. Bella was wild eyed and on the verge of snarling, but Jake's atrocious scent was helping.

"Yup, I've got her. I'm going to take her out to get some air."

"Good idea, I'll be out in a bit." She turned back to her new, prospective friends as Jake pulled Bella out of the room. "Sorry, I have to go. It was nice meeting you all, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Is she okay?"

"What happened?"

"She'll be fine, she hit her head." She grabbed her purse and jogged after her boyfriend and her mother. They were already out of the school and down the street when Renesme caught up.

"Jake, wait up, let me talk to her." Both heads turned, her mother's eyes were still black, she would have to feed before going back. Jake held her in place as she fought instinctively to get back to the school, and satisfy her thirst.

"Stay away Ness," Jake cautioned, but Renesme wasn't about to listen.

"Mom," she approached them with her hand stretched towards Bella's face, slowly and carefully. She knew she smelled like food, Bella always said that she couldn't ever hurt her, but she knew this wasn't exactly her mother. Bella snarled viciously, but Nessie knew her ferocity was dwindling as she looked into her eyes. Her hand planted firmly on her mother's face, images flowed from her mind to her mother's through the simple touch. Nessie showed Bella images of who she was, how she looked at Edward, her laugh, her scowl when she was upset, the way she chewed her lower lip when she worried. The snarls ceased and her eyes took some color again as her breathing calmed. She was still thirsty but Jake didn't have to hold her back anymore.

"Neat," Nessie smiled.

"You're amazing," Jacob said with a big, goofy grin.

"Sure, sure," she replied, returning his grin.

"I'm going home." Bella looked like she wanted to vomit, and for once it wasn't because her ex-love was in love with her daughter.

"Do you want me to get Dad?"

"Just send him home, I'll be there."

"Bells, are you sure?" Jake asked, "I could take you home if you want, that way if you catch a whiff of something good..."

"I'm fine, Jake, go back to school. You need to be educated, I doubt you learned anything the first time around, and my daughter is not dating some high school drop out."

"Thanks for that, it was exactly what I needed _Mrs_. High-and-Mighty."

"Oh, I'm high and mighty? What does that make you, _Black_?"

"Wow, it is so obvious why you guys used to love each other," Nessie put in dryly.

"Don't bring that up," Bella snapped at her. "You know it disgusts me."

"You're not the only one," Nessie snapped back, "thinking that my mother used to make out with my boyfriend makes me want to vomit."

Jake threw his hands up in the air in defeat, "Edward," he yelled as he made his way back to the school. Edward was suddenly there between the two girls.

"What happened?" He demanded.

"Nothing," Bella hid her eyes from her husband, and shielded Jake and Nessie's thoughts, "I'm just a little tense. Nessie was trying to help and I snapped at her, I'm sorry Nessie."

"Don't worry about it. I'll see you at home." She took Jake's hand and walked back to the school.

"Bella, look at me, what's wrong?"

Reluctantly, she looked up into his eyes. "I lost it Edward. Jake had to drag me out."

"Bella," he caressed her cheek, "its okay. Nobody was hurt."

Her throat still burned with fire, and her legs twitched, wanting to pull her back to the school, "I couldn't stop myself."

"That will come with time, come one, you need to hunt."

Bella's stomach churned; the thought of animal blood made her want to vomit in comparison with the promise of human blood. "Not yet."

"I'm sure that Esme misses us already, let's go home."


	2. Chapter 2

**Here it is: the passing of the torch from Bella to Renesme. It's going to pretty much be all about either Nessie or Jake now. I'd like to apologize in advance, pacing hasn't ever really been my thing and in hindsight I think I'm going to wish that I put off the events of this chapter, or at least dragged them out a little longer. Chapter 3 is coming shortly. Enjoy Chapter 2 : ) **

**Chapter 2**

It was hard to leave when she saw her daughter getting off the motorcycle with Jacob. He hadn't traded up to a new bike, although Edward had offered, he kept the old Harley and just made a tweak here and there. It came as a surprise to everyone when Nessie walked into the garage one day to find Rose and Jake working together, upgrading the engine, without arguing. The only time they could speak to each other or be in the same room without being disgusted was when they were talking about engines and wrenches. Nessie walked up to the door without seeing her mother, she was too busy gazing lovingly into Jake's eyes.

"Nessie," Bella broke the connection unwillingly.

She looked up to see her mother in the doorway with a suitcase, "What's going on?" She asked, confused.

"I'm going down to see Charlie for a few days."

"Can I come?" Nessie was very fond of her human relative.

"No, I'm going alone, I just wanted to say goodbye before I left." Jake had disappeared into the garage; she could hear him tossing scrap pieces of metal around.

Nessie's brow knit together like her mom's did when she was worried, "You're coming back right?"

Bella was brushing Nessie's hair from her eyes in a split second, "Of course I am, like I said, it will only be a few days. I just need some time to remember my humanity; I realized today that I've lost it."

"Okay," she still wasn't so sure about this, "say 'hi' to Billy for Jake and me."

"I'll try," Bella smiled. "Be good, and go easy on your father, he worries about you."

"And you don't"

Her mother laughed, "I trust Jake to keep you safe, your father doesn't."

"I don't understand that, he kept you safe, what's so different about me?"

"You actually try to get into trouble, for one, and for another, you are his daughter, not his girlfriend who he thought would break up with him if he didn't pretend to trust Jake."

Renesme couldn't bring herself to say goodbye as she watched her mother walk to her red Ferrari and drive off. Nor could she bring herself to move from the spot she stood, watching. Jake found her there a little while later and put his arms around her. "She'll be okay," he whispered.

"I know. I've just never watched her leave on her own before." The few times she had ever watched her mother walk away she had always had Edward with her.

"Let's go inside, I'm starving."

Nessie nodded and let Jake lead her away from the driveway. Her father was playing the piano, a lullaby he had dedicated to her mother, and didn't stop to bother Jake about holding Nessie's hand.

Ness had been extremely quiet since her mother had left, too quiet. Jake tried all his tricks to pull her from her revere-he juggled the eggs, he juggled the knives, he threw spaghetti at her, and even started a small fire on the stove-nothing worked. She sat in her chair, eyes seeing something other than Jake. He didn't like it when she ignored him; after all, it hardly seemed fair that he should have to be aware every time she blinked her eye, and she could look right past him if she wanted to. As a last effort, Jake reluctantly gave up his food and took Nessie's hand. With his steady and callused hands, he traced patterns into her palm. It had started as a game when she was little, he would trace a picture on her palm and she would show him what he had drawn with her powers. As she grew older his fingers became softer, not the playful hands of an older brother, but the gentle hands of a lover. Not that they had ever-Edward would have thrown Jake through a window and then across the country for good measure-no, Jake and Nessie were both very aware of the strict marriage rule. No images flashed before his eyes as he traced this time.

"What's wrong, Ness?"

Her eyes snapped into focus, "Let's go for a walk."

She took Jake's hand and pulled him through the house, Edward's music stopped abruptly as they walked by, and through the woods that had encroached upon the structure over the years. A late autumn rain began to fall as Nessie dragged Jacob along even further. The cold drops made him shiver, or maybe it was the sense of foreboding the dark, vampire-run woods gave him. Finally she stopped. They were deeply hidden in the forest now, but not nearly far enough away to not be over heard. It was pouring rain now, the pair was completely drenched. Ness started to shiver and Jake offered to take her into his arms, but she shook her head.

"Now are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"I don't think we should see each other any more."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Sorry, I must have edited when I was tired. Bella is no longer in two places at once. Please enjoy the space/time friendly Chapter 3.**

**Chapter 3**

Unlike her mother, Nessie looked into Jake's eyes as she broke his heart. Bella had looked past him, through him even, but Renesme watched him so intensely she was almost staring him down.

"What?" He almost laughed; convinced it was a sick joke. "Ness, we haven't even had a fight yet."

"I know." The world seemed to crash down around his shoulders.

"We haven't been apart for more than a day at a time in your entire life."

"I know." The weight of her words was crushing, forcing him down to his knees—he wasn't sure where he found the strength to remain on his feet.

"Ness, I love you."

"I know."

"Then say something!" She didn't flinch at his outburst, her eyes remained steadily gazing into his, but she didn't answer him either. "What is the problem? Tell me and I will fix it." Tears stung his eyes but he couldn't care enough to wipe them away. All Jake cared about was the girl in front of him-it was all he had ever cared about since the day she was born.

"You can't fix everything Jacob."

"Just let me try," he pleaded. If it took him on his knees begging for her to change her mind, he would gladly do it-and suffer any jokes Rosalie threw at him for acting like a lovesick puppy in silence.

She didn't let him try. She turned on her heel and walked away. Just before she disappeared into the trees, a whisper penetrated his heart. It wasn't anything anyone could hear but him, it was what Renesme really wanted. The whisper was something he was used to, in a way it was always there, reminding him of how to act, but he hadn't needed to feel it in over a year. He had begun to really understand her, or so he had thought. This time, the whisper said: _Don't ask again._

Rage ripped through him. A heat, and with that heat, pain, that he hadn't felt in a long, long time, burned under his skin. His hands shimmered; it looked like they were shaking, but in reality they were trying to shift forms and Jake was fighting it. It would have been easier to shift, but he had been admonished by the vampires enough times about controlling his emotions. If he morphed in the middle of a classroom, their secret would be pretty much blown out of the water. He battled himself, surely this one time would be forgiven considering the circumstances, but then how hard will it be to control the next time? A part of his brain weighed and measured each side of the argument while the rest was acutely aware of everything that was making him angry. How could she do that to him and then just walk away? No explanation, nothing to fix, just a cold shoulder-and a cold heart. No, that wasn't true. Nessie's heart was good, and kind, and brave; how could she do this to him? He couldn't give in and morph. If he did, he surely would again when he saw her in school. What if she found someone else? No, he couldn't think of that now.

Sleep. That was the answer, sleep. He just needed to rest. Things would look up in the morning. Jake wasn't sure if he really believed himself, but his feet carried him towards the house anyways. When he walked through the side door, silence met him. The vampires had gathered in the living room and they watched as he trudged through the house-Renesme was mercifully no where in sight. No one mentioned his muddy shoes, no one complained about wet dog smell, and no one tried to disguise their pity-not even Rosalie. A wave of peace rested on him. It wasn't strong enough to take away all the pain, Jake doubted anything was, it was just enough to itch on top of his skin. He looked at Jasper and smiled appreciatively, but shook his head. The itching stopped and there was grief once more. Jasper looked down at Alice and sadness touched his face when he thought of losing her. All of them wore that same look, and Jake knew that they truly understood his pain. Turning away from the sympathetic, blood sucking monsters, he continued down the hall and up the stairs to his room above the garage.

His room was his only relief from the sickening smell of the house, but this time walking through the threshold didn't help him breathe easier. It was worse. The room was saturated with Renesme's scent. He couldn't bear it. If he wasn't going to morph, then he had to let his rage out, and fast. Without thinking, he grabbed a framed picture of the two of them and flung it at the wall. Next, he swept the shelves, dumping every reminder of _her_ onto the floor. He tipped the dresser that was full of clothes she had given him, onto the floor. His hands couldn't do enough damage; they couldn't tear the walls down that were saturated with her scent, they couldn't dig up the carpet where they had both sat for hours, just talking. No, his hands weren't enough, but the monstrous jaws and gigantic paws that he had morphed into would work. He didn't even realize he had given in to his will to shift until he saw the furry paws clawing through the drywall. His wolf ears could hear the vampires downstairs, and his nose could smell them. They were the enemy, they helped cause his pain. If it weren't for the leaches he wouldn't care about a half human monstrosity. It was all their fault.

Jake flung himself at the door, he could hear them talking in the living room, but the door wouldn't give way. He tried again and again, but it was made of something stronger than steel. Not ready to give up, he attacked the walls. If he could get through then he could get to the vampires. Once he got through the drywall and the insulation, and the wires that shocked him, he discovered a thick concrete wall. He didn't have to try the widow to know that it too would be unbreakable; he didn't have to, but he did. There was no chance of getting out. They had built a cage for him.

Jake looked around the room. It looked like a hurricane had gone through it. As the dust settled, he found one thing that hadn't been demolished. A shining beacon in the storm. A teddy bear, Nessie had given him when she was much smaller. Slowly and very carefully, as though it were a child, he picked it up with his teeth. His anger was abating, and he gently pushed some of the debris to the side and went to sleep. The teddy bear was tucked under his arm and the soft russet fur was brushing his face when he woke the next morning, human.

It took some time to dig a dusty outfit out of the rubble that wasn't shredded. Of course it was an old t-shirt that hadn't fit him properly in years, but one glance at the room and he knew he was lucky to have it.

The house was quiet, even for a house of the dead, but it smelled great. Esme had been cooking. Jake followed his nose to the kitchen where he found her putting some eggs and bacon onto a plate. When he went to take it off her hands she drew it away.

"If you want to eat, you have to sit."

Usually he just ate over the sink, but he obediently took a seat at the kitchen island. Esme put the plate in front of him and poured a glass of orange juice.

"Where's everyone?" he asked with his mouth full of scrambled eggs.

"At school. I don't suppose you're alarm clock survived, did it?"

Jake put down his bacon, no longer hungry. "Sorry about that."

"Rooms can be rebuilt, they are easy to fix; it's you we are all worried about."

"All?"

"Yes, _all_, Jacob Black. Rosalie is good at hiding it, but even she has feelings."

"Right," he couldn't quite believe the woman, no matter how innocent her face was. "Speaking of rooms, I love what you did with mine. It's quite a cozy little prison."

Esme diverted her eyes, ashamed, "We knew you would never hurt us, but it is a lot easier to fix one room than it is the entire house."

It was Jake's turn to be ashamed, "I might have. If I could have gotten out I was going straight for the family."

"Ifs are fickle things, Jacob, but I believe that _if_ you had left your room you would have seen a family who loved you and you would not have harmed us."

"But how can you know?"

"Exactly my point, how can you know? Now, eat up, you must be starving."

Jake finished his breakfast and went to find Esme. There was always something to tweak on his car or motorcycle, but he didn't want to be alone just yet. She was sitting in the den knitting as she hummed one of Edward's songs.

"Knitting?" he had to ask.

"It passes the time," she shrugged.

"Is that what you do all day?"

"Not always. I do whatever I want during the day."

"What do you want to do today?"

She put her knitting down on her lap and looked into space, supposedly thinking hard, "Gardening, I think."

"Wait, we have a garden?"

She laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It turned out they did have a garden in a greenhouse…a few yards from the back of the mansion…bigger than the house Jake grew up in. How had he missed it for the months he had lived there? Without a second of thought Jake knew how, Renesme. He had been so focused on her that he didn't notice anything else; she hadn't shown an interest in the greenhouse, so he didn't even know it existed. It was the one place for miles he could be that wouldn't remind him of Nessie, and it was close enough to her that he didn't have to worry. If there was anything Jake knew anymore it was that he still couldn't leave her.

Jake spent a lot of days and nights in the greenhouse, so many that Carlisle brought a cot for him when he came to reset Jake's bones-Emmett had actually remembered something that happened to someone other than him and sent Carlisle.

He was quite comfortable actually, his legs hung off the end of the cot when he slept, but that was his only complaint. Esme brought him his meals, and the garden smelled wonderful, he even had his own little corner to grow whatever he wanted-he chose to plant a sapling because he thought he recognized the jagged leaves, Esme somehow persuaded him to plant another sapling with big round leaves.

After a few days of living in the greenhouse-or was it weeks? Jake didn't care anymore-Edward came to visit.

"Your trees are looking healthy," he noted.

"Thanks. Have you brought me my homework or something? I thought that since I'm no longer dating your daughter it wouldn't matter if I dropped out."

"I didn't bring your homework, although Bella would be disappointed with you if you did drop out. No matter the circumstances. I came to tell you that no matter your education, I'm fighting in your corner."

"Sorry, a shiver just went up my spine; I think the world stopped turning, or maybe it was Hell freezing over."

Edward actually chuckled, which was an extremely rare response to one of Jake's jokes. "I know, I didn't think this day would come either, but even with my prejudice against you, I know you will do anything for my daughter."

"Well thanks, Eddy, but I'm not sure how much fighting will be happening. I'm tired, see."

"That doesn't sound like the Jacob Black I remember; the one who would have fought me to the death if it would have helped him win his love over."

"Yes, well, I was an impulsive and reckless teenager then. I'm much more mature now." Edward snorted, ad Jacob sighed. _She doesn't want me to fight, she wants space, _he thought, unable to admit to it out loud.

Edward nodded, sadly, "You should come inside tonight. No one will admit to it, but we all miss the smell."

Jacob had to laugh out loud, but he reluctantly did follow Edward back to the house. The first thing he noticed, of course, was that Nessie was missing.

"Where?" was all he needed to ask for Edward to understand. He shrugged. _Shrugged_! "What do you mean by that?" Jake demanded, a little panicked. No, there was nothing wrong, he would have felt that. The cables that connected him to Renesme still pulled just as strongly.

"Out with friends," he growled, not impressed by the idea. "Certain vampires refused to let me follow her."

_Just point 'em out, Ed, just point 'em out._ Jake cracked his knuckles, readying for the fight he desired.

Edward shook his head, but gave Alice a particularly cold glare as they passed her in the hall; she smiled and waved, and muttered, "I'm watching you."

"Oh great, the dog's back," Rosalie groaned when Jake entered the room. She had no doubt heard him coming all the way from the greenhouse, but had decided to save the insults for him to hear. "I thought we might actually be rid of you this time."

Jake wasn't in a good enough mood to fight back. He was too busy fretting over Nessie not being in the house or supervised. Rose didn't push it further. Maybe Esme was right, maybe Rosalie really did have feelings. His chair, the no-vampires-allowed-chair that Rosalie had gotten him on year for Christmas to keep the wet dog smell off the couch, was vacant so he sat in it.

"Hey, Black," Emmett tried to pull him from his revere, "you're going to have to come back to school soon. There's a rumor going around that I killed and buried your body in the woods behind the house."

_You could try_, Jake thought maliciously, but still didn't say anything.

His eyes couldn't focus on the room where he could smell Renesme even though she was absent; they stared as though he could see through the walls and across town to where she was. The tension inside of his stomach didn't ease until he heard a car pull up the drive. She was home.

Edward didn't look at ease though, nor did any of the other vampires who gathered quickly in the living room. "What is it, what am I missing?" But before anyone answered the door opened, and Jake heard another set of footsteps next to Nessie's. She was being foolish, and for the first time since she was four years old, Jake wanted to admonish her; but she didn't need another father, and by the looks of Edward, he was already on it. Instead of being angry at Nessie, Jake's instincts kicked in. He was in a room full of vampires and an innocent human was nearly upon them. He was ready to protect the innocent even though he knew no one would harm him. It was that stupid, stinging sweet smell; it put him as much on edge as human smells put vampires.

"Is anyone home?" Nessie called a little too loudly from the door. At least she was putting on a show.

"In here," Carlisle called, of all of them, he was the most at ease.

Nessie peeked her head into the room, and a jolt hit Jake. She looked happy, her cheeks were still flushed from the chilly autumn evening, and there was that sparkle in her eyes that made it impossible for anyone to refuse what she wanted. She was still the same Nessie-she just didn't want Jake anymore.

"They're in here," she called behind her. Jake's eyes darted quickly around the room, the vampires were rigid in their chairs or where they stood. Dark purple circles rested under their eyes-when did they feed last? Jake tried to remember but he had been out of the picture for a while now. His finger twitched, he wanted to get up from his chair, bolt to the hallway and drag the human out. Edward, hearing Jake's thoughts, held his hand in front of Jake's chest-_sit back, we'll be okay_, it seemed to say.

Nessie finally walked into the room. Her hand holding someone else's. A boy's.

"Everyone, this is Shane, my boyfriend."

Suddenly Jake didn't care to protect the human, and Edward's hand said _sit back_ and_ we'll be okay_.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry this took me so long, I went camping for two weeks-which means no computer. Hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 5**

Carlisle was the first to compose himself and greet the young man, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Shane. I am Carlisle, Nessie's uncle. This is my wife, Esme." He looked completely at ease, although his eyes were the darkest.

"Will you be staying for supper?"

"Ness said that would be okay," he was nervous; who wouldn't be in a room full of thirsty vampires.

"It's fine, I'll just set another place." Esme was the epitome of polite, but as she left to now create a meal for eleven instead of two, she watched Jake's face. It hadn't taken long for Esme to adopt him too, and she would not like Shane; no matter how polite or nice he may be. Jake watched as she left the room, glad to know she was on his side too.

Jasper and Alice, in stark contrast to Carlisle and Esme, were next to greet the newcomer. If that had been Carlisle thirsty, Jasper was a heroine addict, jonesing for a fix. His eyes were completely black, and he was almost slumping in his weakness. The only thing that kept him grounded was holding tightly to Alice's hand in a stone crushing plea—_don't let me eat him_.

"So nice of you to stop by, but Jasper and I have other plans for supper this evening. Nessie should warn us next time so we can stick around." Alice shot Nessie a look of ice and murder as she pulled Jasper from the room.

Rosalie didn't say a word, she stood from her perch on the arm of the sofa, looked Shane up and down, sniffed and walked out of the room, arms folded across her chest. Emmett was quick to step in, "Sorry about Rose. I'm Emmett, so glad we could have you for dinner." Renesme shot him a warning glare which only encouraged a laugh from him as he jogged after Rosalie.

That was it. With only Edward and him left, Jake gave up hope that the thirsty vampires would devour the boy. _You still on my side?_ he asked Edward. Edward nodded as the two stared at the _couple_. Images of unspeakable violence filled Jake's mind as he watched Shane stand next to Ness. He couldn't act on them of course, the cables between him and Nessie would bind him if he even tried, but he had his thoughts and he had someone who could hear his thoughts. Edward dashed those dreams too with the shake of his head. Jake amended his thoughts to Edward throwing Shane across the border, but he shook his head at that as well. Seconds had passed, and under the glares he was receiving from Edward and Jake, Shane looked about ready to run through the door and as far as his legs would carry him. Jake couldn't bear to make polite conversation with the boy so he just stood and walked away.

From behind him as he fled the room he heard Edward greeting his daughter's new boyfriend, "I wouldn't worry about him, if you ever hurt her…well, let's just say he'll be the least of your worries."

The threat brought a fleeting smile to Jake's face. It disappeared when Carlisle rushed past him to escort Edward out of the room. Supper was being made in the kitchen, and could hear Edward arguing with Carlisle from the same room, two things he was sure to enjoy, but that wasn't where his feet carried him.

The door. It stood there, right in front of him, but he could go no further. The door. Just a twist of the handle and a gentle pull and he would be free for a while. The door.

Jake stood staring at the door, willing himself to leave, to run away and never come back. It didn't grow smaller before his eyes, restricting him from leaving; if anything it grew bigger, inviting him through it. His palms itched, wanting to reach for the cold, metal doorknob; his foot lifted from the ground, begging to take the step; but he just stood. For what, he didn't know. There was clearly nothing left for him here, in the mansion filled with his enemies. His enemies and his brothers. His enemies and the girl he loved. His enemies and the woman who thought of him a son. When did the lines blur? When did it his enemies become the monsters, no people, he loved? When did the grey become white, and the black, grey? It all came back to Renesme. It always would. She was the very center of his existence, and the core of his beliefs. When she left him, his—her-ideals didn't. She had changed his life, that much had always been clear, but he had never thought that she would _leave _him changed. With her in his life the pathway was always clear, but who was he now? Where was he going? This moment could change everything. The door.

"Jake? Where are you going? Esme said supper's ready." Only one voice could reach him through his thoughts, but even she couldn't change his mind now.

He shook his head and walked past her to the dining room. She couldn't change his mind, but she had made it. She could stomp all over him, shatter his heart into a thousand pieces, and bring home a new boy every week, but he wasn't going anywhere that she wasn't. Hearing her voice made him want to cut off his ears, seeing her made him wish for blindness, and her scent made him beg for death, but he would stay because he loved her with all his big, puppy dog heart.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Supper was entertaining, to say the least. Jake was more at ease than he had been since the night in the forest, even with Shane sitting at the same table. An extreme irritation with the boy settled deeply in his bones, but he was able to mask it with a cheery good will—if Nessie was going to chose him, and he couldn't live without Nessie, then he had better get comfortable with having the boy around. The entertainment came from watching the vampires put on smiling faces and choke down the food. Emmett and Edward's smiles turned sour fairly quickly as they tried to shovel disgusting substance into their mouths as fast as they could, Carlisle and Esme seemed to be enjoying their meal in tiny bites, and Rosalie didn't even try. Her nose was upturned, her arms crossed, she would _not _be eating the disgusting human food. At least she could get away with it. She was so skinny she practically looked like she had an eating disorder anyway. Jake gladly took her plate off her hands and then took two more helpings before noticing that Shane was staring at him so he decided to stop. Shane was staring at _him_, not at the five vampires who looked sick at the sight of their dinners, but Jake who was apparently eating too much.

"Well, I'd better get going," Shane mumbled when it was apparent no one was going to make conversation. No one stopped him, and Nessie walked him out.

It wasn't long before he was being towed back by Nessie though. No one in the dining room had moved, _someone _was in trouble and everyone was waiting to chew her out.

"Shane's car won't start," she sighed.

None of the vampires moved, though at least two of them could have helped easily; they also happened to be the two moodiest. Jake sighed and stood up, "Does it make a sound when you turn the key?"

"No, not even a click," Shane answered.

"That's probably not good. I'll take a look at it."

Nessie grabbed Jake's arm as he tried to get through them to the door. The image he showed her was a question mark. He smiled at her, the best goofy, Jacoby smile he could muster and carried on.

"Hold on, Renesme," Edward commanded his daughter back when she tried to follow. "You have homework to do, let the boys go talk cars."

Jake was thankful that he wouldn't have Nessie outside with him; it would have been too distracting. He was also glad that he didn't have to pitch in on the scolding they were going to give her, it felt like it should be a family thing.

Shane's car was a rusted, blue Impala that looked like it had been badly abused, either by Shane or its previous owner. Just to be sure, Jake tried the key again. Shane was right, not a sound. He lifted the lid to get a look at its inner workings, but from a first glance he couldn't tell what was wrong.

"Time to get my hands dirty," he mumbled, feeling his way through the car. The sun had gone down and he was working purely from the lights coming from the house. After a while he gave up.

"There's nothing I can do until tomorrow. Judging by what I can tell in this light, I'll probably need to go into town and buy parts for it."

"How much is that going to cost?" Shane asked, with a new girlfriend, his funds were getting thin.

Jake didn't hear him though. The purr of a very familiar car was making its way up the long drive.

"How much?" Shane repeated, but Jake was watching the driveway.

The Ferrari pulled to the side of the driveway, seeing the dead car that blocked her path, and Bella walked out. Jake's muscles tensed, the last time he had seen Bella she was about to rip a kid's throat out. Bella's muscles were stiff as well as she watched Jake carefully. Her eyes were dark.

"Bells," Jake greeted with a slight nod, never taking his eyes off her.

"Jake. Who's your friend?"

He growled quietly at the term, "Ness's new boyfriend."

Her cautious eyes snapped open in surprise and stared past him to the house, undoubtedly looking right where Nessie was behind the walls. "Boyfriend? When did that happen?"

"Just met him today. Everyone's inside, I'm just trying to fix his car."

Bella nodded, understanding that she was to go inside and away from the human. Jake stayed between her and the boy as she walked by. Carefully, she touched his arm. He flinched away from the ice cold touch.

"Sorry Jake," she mumbled, too low for Shane to hear, and then entered the house.

"Was that Ness's sister? She told me she was visiting relatives."

"Yeah." For some reason having Bella back home just made Jake feel worse.

"So, how much is this hunk of scrap metal going to cost me?"

"I won't know 'till I get a better look, but I'll have Ness pass the message along when I find out. I'll drive you home in my car."

As Jake was trying to pull his keys out of the pocket of his too small jeans, a howl pierced the air. Seth.

Shane shivered, "Creepy."

"On second thought, why don't you just use my car until I can fix yours?" He yanked the keys for his Nissan GTR out of his pocket and shoved them into Shane's hands. The car had been a Christmas gift from Bella, Edward, and Renesme. Ness had picked the color, blue. Jake's skin was already tingling, wanting to shift to greet his pack member. "It's in the garage. I have to go now, don't chip the paint!"

Jake was off, running towards the trees where Seth was hiding. He was miles away, making sure to keep of the vampires' land until he was invited. It was Jake's land too, everyone had agreed to that, but Seth still wouldn't step foot into the hunting grounds without someone greeting him. Accidents can happen when a hunting vampire and a werewolf crossed paths.

Jake knew he couldn't afford to wreck another set of clothes until he had the chance to go shopping, but he couldn't get out of the stupidly tight pair that he wore now.

"Seth!" he yelled as loudly as he could, not caring if Shane heard him. Then he let out the loudest howl his human lungs could allow. Seth answered back, another human yip and a yowl piercing the eerie silence of the night.

"Seth!" Jake laughed, tackling his pack brother in an enormous hug. Seth was two inches taller than Jake now, but he still hadn't acquired his bulk. Thankfully he had pulled on a pair of jeans before Jake had gotten there, they came up to midway between his knees and the ground, but at least it took away the awkwardness of nudity.

"Gerroff me Jake," Seth laughed back.

"Or you'll do what?" he asked, pulling Seth into a headlock.

"C'mon," Seth flailed uselessly trying to shake Jake, "you want to hear the news or not?"

"All right, all right, I'm game. What's going on?"

"Well, for one, Leah told me to deliver this." Seth pulled an envelope from the pocket of his jeans. Jake opened it immediately, with a quizzical look to Seth. It was a wedding invitation. Leah stared back at him, happier than Jake had ever seen, next to her fiancé, David. David was a good guy, a really good guy it turned out after numerous background checks and questions bordering on interrogations from Jake and Seth. Leah hadn't imprinted, but David as good had. He was perfect for her, he even put up with her picking fights. The invitation was indented on the front, Jake turned it over. On the back were two words, handwritten. Jake imagined the smile on her face as Leah wrote them. _I'm out!_

"The original three are down to two," Jake muttered despite himself, he was going to miss having his second around. Leah and Seth had followed him from the beginning and, no matter her excuses, Jake knew she was loyal to him. "What do you say, Seth, are you up to being third in command?"

"Oh geez, I thought you'd never ask. That doesn't mean that I have to live with Embry, right? His place smells funny."

Jake rolled his eyes, "C'mon you; Esme cooked extras."

"Before we eat, as your new number three, we need to talk shop."

"Oh? What's up? You aren't getting a raise."

"It's nothing like that. On the way over here I caught the scent of a large coven, at least twenty vamps. It was hard to tell, they sometimes pick up new ones, other times some of them leave, but the number stays between fifteen and thirty."

"Could you tell where they were headed?"

"It wasn't that hard, they left a trail of bodies. They're camped fifty miles north of here."

"Camped?"

"Yeah, no movement. I didn't get too close though."

"Probably best." Jake thought about this for a few minutes. At least twenty vamps, _human_ blood-thirsty from the sounds of it, three werewolves, eight vampires who tried not to get involved in fights—especially someone else's, and one half-vamp that no one would let near a battle. That meant at least two vamps to watch Ness, and then no one else would want to go. Worst case scenario, Jake, Seth, and Embry left to fight two dozen vamps – he doubted Quil would be able to pull himself away from Clair, she was in her whiny pre-teen stage. It would have been do-able if they hadn't let themselves fall out of shape, and if they were completely reckless and stupid. Jake, who may have once considered the odds in his favor, had the lives of his brothers to think about, "We're going to need back up."

Seth nodded; he had come to the same conclusion.

"Let's go tell the leaches we've got company."

The vampires took it fairly well, there was a bit of an uproar when Edward and Bella started packing their bags, but that calmed down eventually.

"We just moved," Rosalie complained, "I'm not leaving. Especially not over something that won't ever reach us."

"Alice?" Carlisle asked calmly.

"Not a thing, my guess is that Jake's going to call in the cavalry." The tiny vampire rubbed her temples on the verge of a massive headache and glared at Jake and Seth.

Jake shrugged, "That's the plan. You won't be inconvenienced in the slightest, and the boys will be happy. It's kind of their job after all."

"I don't like calling in favors to them," Jasper pointed out gravely. Owing the species that wanted to destroy you didn't usually turn out well.

"It won't be a favor, this is what they do."

"They protect their own people, not other vampires."

"Well, we wouldn't spin it that way. Trust me, the packs grown so large they've started branching out. Remember when we crossed Jared's path last year? He was on his way to Quebec to hunt vampires."

"I still don't like it."

"I think it's a good idea," Carlisle put in, ending the conversation. "You can never have too many allies."

Jake smiled, "Great! I'll start trying to get in touch with Sam, but it could take a while. In the mean time I'll get Embry over here."

"Great, another dog," Rose groaned, making Jake smile wider—anything to annoy Rosalie.

"Don't worry, soon there'll be some more to drown out his scent."

Carlisle cleared his throat, "Rosalie has a point, Jacob. We do need to keep up appearances. Having that many people suddenly appear at our house is sure to raise suspicion; especially with Renesme's friend coming around. Perhaps the pack would be happier somewhere that didn't smell like vampires?"

"What are you suggesting Doc?"

"There's an old house just a little south of town, Esme was planning on purchasing it to renovate. I know it isn't next door, but it is well within frequent traveling distance."

"Right," Jake grumbled, his glee spoiled, "probably best for everyone."

"Until this is sorted out, Renesme, you aren't to be anywhere without one of us. Someone will pick you up and drop you at your classes, and no more going off with friends by yourself," Edward told his daughter. His voice was stern and completely serious, but he had to work hard to conceal his smile.

_I could kiss you right now_, Jake thought and then winced at the image. Edward's face also contorted in disgust, but he was happy too—Nessie was no longer allowed to see Shane alone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Ness, come on! We're going to be late!" Jake called from the doorway, all ready to go to school in his new clothes.

"But why do we have to go?" she whined, dragging her feet to the door. "Everyone else is hunting, can't we cut classes too?"

"Your mother would kill me if I even entertained the idea. This is your first time through school, try again on your second or third."

"That's my point, it isn't like this is my only shot. There's loads of time to catch up."

Jake sighed, "What if we take the bike?"

"You already promised to take me out again before it snows. Not good enough."

"What if I let you drive?" Anything to get her out the door.

"Oh, you're good," she said, a smile growing on her face. It gave Jake the feeling that he should have just let her cut.

Despite almost crashing, twice, and the wheelie she didn't mean to do, the drive was wonderful for Jake. For the first time in weeks he held Renesme in his arms. He could smell her hair through her helmet, and was happy again. That was until Shane met them in the parking lot.

"Sweet ride, Ness," he smiled so sweetly it made Jake sick as he took Ness's helmet and hand.

Jake let them walk off to their first class together; too upset to worry about the thirsty vampires that weren't all that far away. He had allowed himself to forget the way things were, and his world shattered all over again. Her scent didn't belong to him anymore, he wasn't allowed to hold her in his arms just to know that she was there, he couldn't clasp her hand and know that she would follow him anywhere; that was for Shane now. His hands started to shimmer. Jake forced that energy from his hands into his bike helmet that he held, in a shattering punch. The helmet cracked and he lobbed it into the fence around the schoolyard; it was useless now anyways.

The math test Jake forgot to study for in his second block didn't help his situation. He sat in his chair, hunched over his paper, every muscle tense as he tried to answer the questions. He broke his pencil twice by pressing too hard, and had to re-sharpen it every two minutes. Finally, with his pencil run down, and only half of the test completed, Jake gave up. His hands were shaking, and he just had to get out of the suffocating building.

Jake slammed his test down on his teacher's desk, a little too forcefully—the desk shuddered under his hands.

"Finished already Mr. Black?" Mr. Henderson asked, leafing through the poorly written test. Jake didn't answer, not trusting himself not to growl. "There's thirty minutes left in class, sit down and finish this please," he handed back the test.

"I don't have a pencil," the words tickled the back of his throat. Mr. Henderson handed Jake his. Jake snapped it in half under his thumb and placed the remains on the desk. "Oops." He had to clench his hands into fists now to control the shaking.

"I think you need to go see Ms. Kirkpatrick," Mr. Henderson ordered. "Then you can come back at lunch and finish your test."

Jake bolted his hands to his sides, they were all too eager to strangle the math teacher. Instead of giving in to his violent urges, he grabbed his bag and stormed out of the room. The last thing he needed was Esme, who he had listed as his guardian at registration, to hear about this and feel even more sorry for him. So instead of heading straight for the door and running home, like he wanted to, he stomped off to see Ms. Kirkpatrick in the hopes that if he cooperated no one would call Esme's cell. His whole body quivered as he sat down in the waiting area outside the councilor's office. No matter what he did, Jake couldn't stop his hands from shaking in rage. Ms. Kirkpatrick received Mr. Henderson's call, Jake could hear them talking through the door, and invited Jake in.

"Take a seat Mr. Black." He did as instructed, and sat on the couch that barely fit in the small office. "I have received some concerns from your teachers over your behavior today. Do you want to tell me about what's going on?"

"Not particularly, no offence." His hands began to shake more violently.

"None taken," she dismissed. "Your hands are shaking."

Quickly, Jake sat on his incriminating hands, "So?" He asked.

"Do you mind telling me why?"

"I'm angry, isn't it obvious?"

"Why are you so angry?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter. Your feelings matter, Jacob."

Whether it was her condescending tone, or just how much he was keeping bottled up, Jake broke. "My girlfriend broke up with me for another guy," he all but yelled, "it seems to happen a lot to me."

"So you're angry at this girl," the shrink concluded.

"No."

"You're angry at the boy," she still sounded so sure of herself.

"No."

"You're angry at yourself."

"Nope, I'm just angry."

"It's important to know why you feel the way you feel. I want you to say the first person that pops into your head when I ask you the following question. Are you ready?" Jake nodded his head a fraction, teeth grinding. "Okay, here it is: who are you angry with?"

Jake knew the name that popped into his head, on some level he even knew it was the truth all along, but he sat there and ground his teeth for a second longer before he could answer in a relatively calm manner, "Bella, I'm angry with Bella."

"Okay, good, now tell me why."

"Because I've always been angry with her. If it weren't for her...well, my life would be a whole lot different." That wasn't the truth, but it felt like it was. It was Bella's fault that he had suffered so much heartbreak, but all the amazing moments of his life were because of her too. If it weren't for Bella, he would never know Nessie.

"Different how?" She coaxed.

"I'd be living with my dad, for one." The thought of living back on the rez made Jake even more upset. He couldn't go back. That was Sam's territory, and though Sam would never ban him from home, he couldn't very well just walk in. "For another thing, I'd be cruising around with Sam, even babysitting for him and Emily. I wouldn't be here, losing my heart to another girl in the same way I lost my heart to Bella."

"So Bella was the first girl to break your heart?"

"Well, I would use a more graphic term, like, I don't know, rip it out of my chest and eat it while I bled out on the floor-but then you'd probably think I was unstable."

"Not at all, heartbreak is a very traumatic thing to some people."

"You just don't understand, but that's fine, I'm pretty used to it."

"What don't I understand?"

"Never mind, I'll be fine. I just need some time to adjust. Look, my hands have stopped shaking." Well, mostly anyways, and mostly just because he held them so tensely that he couldn't even bend his fingers. It convinced her that he was good to go back to class though, or maybe that she just wasn't going to get any more out of him.

When Jake bumped into Nessie in the hallway any anger or hurt that remained inside of him disappeared.

"Jake! What are you doing out of class?"

"I showed Henderson a little too much attitude in class and got sent to the shrink to work out some serious abandonment issues," Jake joked lightly, how could he ever feel abandoned when she was standing right in front of him?

"Nice," she rolled her eyes.

"How about you, don't you have chemistry right now...at the other end of the school?"

"Yeah, I decided to take a walk."

"And how long has this walk been?"

She glanced at her watch, like she didn't know, "Oh, about eighty minutes or so."

"Well, at least that means you went to first block."

"Of course I did, creative music is one of the two classes I actually enjoy." Nessie had inherited her father's talent for music, and was selected for a class of advanced music students who enjoyed a lot of creative freedom.

"Well, how do you feel about reverting to plan A and blowing this popsicle stand?"

"Could I stay inside and read a magazine?"

Jake laughed at her puppy dog eyes as she batted her eyelashes, "You might need more than one, but yes, read as many as you like."

"Awesome! Let me grab my bag." She was in such a rush Jake had to jog a few steps before he could stop her.

"I need to finish my math test. Why don't you find Shane and have lunch," apparently that was what she wanted him to say, because there was no way he would be saying that by his own free will. "Meet me at the bike twenty minutes before the end of lunch and we'll get out of here."

"You, sir, have a deal." Before she ran off to meet Shane for lunch she gave him a big hug. Jake didn't think about the boy she was going to meet, or how much it tortured him, he just basked in the blissful moment. There was hope, there had to be hope.

**A/N: There was a question presented in the reviews about why Seth was taller than Jake, when Jake is the Alpha. It was a really good question, ****and hopefully my reasoning makes sense. I had two different ideas:**

**Seth and Leah were apart from Jake for some time. Leah had grown in height to accommodate her second in command status, but then became the weaker of the two when she started to ignore her wolf side. The ties between Jake and the Clearwaters became weakened because they were not thinking in pack mentality. Seth, now being stronger than Leah, and not completely part of Jake's pack – though he could not and would not separate completely from Jake – became sort of the Alpha of his own pack. Because he was now more dominate than Leah, he had to be taller. Jake will make up the difference soon and they will all hope that the trend doesn't continue, else they will both be seven and a half feet tall and still growing before long.**

**If #1 doesn't appease you, then consider this: genetics cannot be completely ignored. Yes, Seth has the genetic make up to be taller than Jake as a human, but because when they are wolves normal laws don't apply (obviously), Seth is smaller than Jake in wolf form.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Thank you everyone for your reviews and support. I'm starting to feel the pressure to make every chapter perfect, so you should know that this one isn't. The next one will be better, I promise...I hope... Sorry it's so short.  
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**Chapter 8**

Ness put down her fourth magazine. Jake had let her choose as many as she wanted while he hit the auto parts shop across the street to pick up the parts for Shane's car. It had been such a novel idea at first, reading magazines like all her new friends, but it turned out to be incredibly dull when you could read thirty seven words a second. Maybe it would have been more interesting if she had picked up a wider variety, but she wanted to read all the girly ones her friends read, and that was not the right choice. Not only did every one seem to contain at least one quiz to test how perfect your boyfriend was, which was kind of a touchy subject at the moment, but they all obsessed over the same fashion accessories and celebrities. She sighed and left the stack of magazines in the middle of the floor on her hunt for Jake, he always knew how to liven up an afternoon.

"Jake," she called, wandering the halls, "where you at, boy?"

She couldn't hear him anywhere, and she checked the kitchen and the garage before deciding that he had probably had gone down for an afternoon nap, so she went to check his room. When she opened the door to his room her breath was knocked from her chest. It looked like a war zone; dust and rubble coated the ground, piling up in the middle of the room. Large chunks of concrete were missing from what remained of the walls, adding to the disaster zone. When had this happened? Ness racked her brain, trying to remember anything that she had heard over the past few weeks to explain the mess, but she couldn't come up with anything. Jake hadn't been sleeping in his room for a while though, and she counted back the nights. The night she broke up with him was the last night he had spent in his own room. Had she done this? She couldn't remember anything much from that night, she had gone straight to her room, blasted her music, and cried. If anything had happened that night, she wouldn't have been able to hear it.

The only thing still in tact in the room was a small, delicate teddy bear. Ness remembered giving it to Jake years ago; it was the bear she used to use to get to sleep at night. It always reminded her of Jake, and it made her feel safe as a child. She had given it to him to look after because she insisted that she had grown out of such childish things but couldn't bring herself to throw it away.

The small reminder of Jake, and how he made her feel, drew her into the room. She crouched over the bear and clutched it close to her chest. It smelled like him; like the forest, like air, like life.

"Ness?" Jake startled her and she dropped the bear. He was standing in the doorway, using an oily rag to wipe mud from his hands and making an even bigger mess in the process. There were muddy handprints on his new jeans. "Were you looking for me? I was out in the garden."

"Jake," tears stung her eyes. It was all too much; seeing him, and remembering how things used to be. "I'm so sorry," she choked, looking around the room.

Jake stumbled through the mess and wiped the tears from her cheeks. A comforting but pained smile played across his lips, "For what, this mess? I've been meaning to clean it up for weeks now."

"I'm so sorry," Ness sobbed, burying her face in Jake's muddy shirt. He instinctively put his arms around her.

"Don't be sorry, Ness," he soothed, "this is what you want."

"No it's not. I just got so scared. I didn't know what to do."

"Scared? Scared of what?"

Her chocolate eyes looked up into his, "You."

"Of me?" Jake sputtered, "You never have to be afraid of me Ness. I won't ever hurt you. Don't you know that?"

Ness nodded, "I know that Jacob."

"Then why?"

"Because, what if all I ever think about is you? What if the world is crumbling around me and all I see is your face? What if something happens to you and all I'm left with is a broken world?"

"That's a lot of what ifs," Jake smiled, trying to be reassuring, but Renesme needed an answer. "_If_ something does happen to me, then you will pick yourself back up, and you will be just as amazing as you ever are. You are strong, and brilliant, and talented, and beautiful; there is nothing in this world you can't have. If the world is broken, then you will fix it. If you are alone, then you will find another to love."

"But I don't want to love anyone else," she pouted, "I just want to love you."

"Well, then it's a darned good thing I'm not going anywhere."

Her eyes were still locked with his, and she couldn't stop herself from doing the thing that felt right. She stood up on the very tips of her toes and kissed him. It felt like such a cliché moment from a bad movie, and when it was over, Renesme regretted it. She wasn't ready to go back to Jake. No matter what he said, those fears were still there.

"Well, um, I've got a car to fix," Jake said with a goofy smile. He whistled all the way down to the garage, and the melody continued through the walls as he set to work. While he whistled, a knot settled in the pit of Renesme's stomach. She couldn't be sure, but she felt like she had just made things so much worse. Gently, she picked the teddy bear up from the ground and held it close. Its russet fur tickled her nose as she drew in Jacob's smell. No matter the mess she had made, and no matter how afraid she was, his smell would always calm her down. She settled herself onto the ragged and ripped futon mattress that was draped over some of the debris, and fell asleep. Jacob's scent broke through into her dreams where she ran, laughed, and played with a big, russet dog in the forest.

"Um, Ness?" Jake's voice pulled her back to reality.

"Yeah?" she yawned, stretching her arms.

"This is kind of awkward, but your boyfriend is waiting for you at the front door," the smile still hadn't been wiped from his face.

"Oh." Renesme stood, not really sure what to do.

"Here," Jake held out a set of car keys, "get my keys back, will you? It's getting too cold to take the bike."

"Does that mean that you aren't going to take me out like you promised?"

"I never break a promise."**  
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	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"C'mon Ness, get up!"

Renesme was in her room, trying to sleep in. She did not want to go to school, she did not want to wake up, and she certainly didn't want to talk to Jake since she had kissed him the day before. So, she stayed in bed, trying to ignore the sun that was shining directly into her eyes.

There was a pounding at the door, Jake had decided to take his annoying whining to the next level. "Get up already, we're going to be late."

"I don't think I should go to school today-I'm too thirsty. Think of the children!"

"Who said anything about going to school? Let's go, we'll stop and hunt on the way if you like."

Ness jumped out of bed and bounded to the door. "No school?" she asked, ripping the door open.

Jake was standing there with a big grin on his face. He pushed her helmet into her hands. "I thought we should take advantage of the beautiful weather and take the bike out one more time."

"Why now?" Ness eyed Jake suspiciously. It was her experience that people tended to whisk her away when something was going to happen at home—or within a hundred miles of home. Unruly vampire coming to town? See ya later, Ness. Uncle Jasper's old friend, Peter, starts telling stories from Jasper's less people-friendly days? Goodbye Ness, see you and Jacob in a week or two. She wondered what it was this time; an army of vampires slaughtering the town's people? Or maybe the real threat was Shane. Maybe Jake wasn't trying to protect her; maybe he was trying to steal her away so that he could have some time to win her back without any distractions.

"Nothing sinister, I promise. Sam finally called back last night. He has agreed to see me, and since I promised you one last ride, I thought you'd like to come along."

"And that's it?"

"Well, I did promise your parents that I'd keep an eye on you until they got back this weekend, so you kind of have to come. Sam doesn't like to reschedule."

Renesme was glad to hear it, but she didn't let her guard down. Jake was good at keeping things from her; even when she didn't want him to. He always kept saying, _What you think you want isn't necessarily what you really want._ Even that was hard for him, but he was always right.

"So?" Jake asked.

"Just give me fifteen minutes. You can't just spring a road trip on a girl, you know."

"I'll be in the garage. Come get me when you're ready."

Ness ran through the house, grabbing a bite to eat, showering, changing into something comfortable, yet presentable, and finally rummaging for her passport. If Jake wanted to take the bike, they were going to have to go past border security instead of crossing through in the cover of trees. Living in a small Canadian town, just north of the border had its benefits—being within one day's ride from Forks was one of them, but border crossing certainly wasn't. She checked the box in her room where she kept her multitude of forged documents. Some said she was sixteen so she was able to register for school, others said she was twenty-one so that Jake could get her away from danger quickly. Those were the ones she was looking for. It made getting across the border so much easier when the guard didn't think you were skipping school and running away from home. None of her passports were in the box. She sifted through her room, but still, she found nothing; not even the prank passport Emmett had arranged for her that said her name was _Monster, The Loch Ness_. It wasn't that funny, and her parents had _not_ approved, but Ness had laughed along. That was Uncle Em for you.

Feeling the strain of the clock, Ness ran into her parents' room. She looked in every place they used to store documents, but there was nothing with her face on it.

"Jake!" she called down into the garage, "Do you have my passport?"

"No, why?"

"I can't find it—any of them."

"Did you check behind the panel in the pantry?"

"Forgot, just a sec."

It wasn't there. What was there was a note written by her father. _Stay off the roads_, it read. Ness could see almost see the sternness in his eyes as he wrote the words. _Ugh_, her family could be so controlling and annoying. They always expected her to do as told without any reason as to why.

"Jake," she called again, "I found it, let's go." A little smug, she tucked the note into her jeans pocket. She was tired of everyone telling her what to do, and where to go, and even what to eat.

The two of them took off down the road. It was only a couple of hours to the border, and from there just a few more to Forks. Jake drove this time, vowing to not let Renesme drive again in the near future, and Ness let her mind wander through the miles of yellow, red, and orange leaves.

At the border crossing, Jake asked for Renesme's passport.

"Don't worry about it, I've got this," she told him.

"Quit messing around. Just give me your passport." Jake was a little on edge. The slightest whiff of wolf was in the air.

"I can't. I couldn't find it."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Relax, I'll handle it."

"And just how are you going to do that?"

With a wink and a smile, Ness answered, "You'll see." Jake groaned.

They moved up the line to the border slowly and Jake took off his helmet to let the breeze run through his hair—he was in need of a haircut, but that only made the breeze more welcome. There wasn't a long line, but the guards appeared to be extra cautious for a slow day. Jake pulled the bike up, hesitantly, to the crossing station, but he wasn't worried about getting across. His head tilted slightly to one side, and his brow creased, listening to the wind run past his ears.

"What's wrong?" Ness asked him, taking off her helmet as well to try to hear what he could hear.

"Something's out there," Jake whispered, "or someone." He shivered and then shrugged it off. "Sam's claimed the border, I think I'm just on edge—being this close to another alpha's territory."

"Yeah, maybe. Do you think it's a trap?"

Jake shook his head, sure of his answer. "No. There are bigger things to worry about than the two of us crossing the border. They won't touch us as long as we can help them." Jake's answer only calmed Renesme slightly. He was sure, and she trusted him, but what happened when the alliance was deemed over with?

"Excuse me?" The crossing guard pulled their attention back to the human world. "Could you please hand me your passports?"

Jake handed his passport over with a worried glance back at Renesme. The guard scanned and stamped the appropriate papers and handed it back to him. "And yours miss?"

Ness put on a brave face, and handed the man the note from her father, making sure to make contact to the man's skin. At first he looked confused, but as Ness showed him the perfect image of her passport, his face resumed a blank stare. She showed him working through the motions of scanning and stamping her passport, just as he had done Jake's, and tried to get the images right from his perspective. It was a little sloppy, a little crooked, but Ness knew that people generally didn't question what she showed them—why would they? They wouldn't even know how to begin phrasing the right questions. She withdrew her hand, and the note along with it, and smiled at the officer as he waved them through.

As soon as they were out of sight from the border, Nessie let out a trill of free laughter. Her heart had been racing throughout the entire ordeal. She had never used her ability like that. The rush of adrenaline and sense of accomplishment made her giddy. Jake didn't share in her thrill. He kept silent and drove as fast as he could, constantly scanning the trees.

After a few miles, Ness sobered. She could smell the wolves waiting in the trees that surrounded them. Dozens of the giant animals making sure they didn't step a toe out of line. Ness had lived her entire life without having to fear anything or anyone—well, there was that stint with the Volturi, but she hardly even remembered that—sitting on the back of that motorcycle, she decided she didn't like the feeling. It wasn't the same as worrying about the future as she had done so much of, this didn't taste good. Ness wanted to run back, get away, because even Jake couldn't protect her from these monsters. Monsters that only ever saw her vampire side, the side of her that was their mortal enemy. Instead of running, she gritted her teeth; it was instinct that made her afraid, nothing more. These wolves wouldn't hurt them. Hopefully.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Thanks everyone for your continued love and support of this story. Admittedly, I haven't been as dedicated to my readers as I should be, and I'm sorry. I do have a lot on my plate right now with university and other writing projects, but I am going to try to make New Sun Rising more of a priority. Please enjoy chapter 10, and don't forget to review :)**

Jake parked on the street in front of Charlie's house. As soon as the engine cut out, a boy Jake thought he recognised from the rez approached them from behind the cover of the trees. Henry, Jake remembered, had been ten the last time Jake had seen him. Now, as he walked towards Jake and Renesme, he looked older—much older. He was wearing cut off sweats and nothing else even though the autumn air was close to freezing.

_Jeez,_ Jake thought. Some people didn't even try to blend in.

Sam's lackey stopped short of the bike by a couple of yards and crossed his ham-sized arms across his chest. The kid was huge, even by Jake's standards, but he was somewhat new. Jake noticed that Henry's fists were shimmering though the kid was trying to hide it. It put Jake's teeth on edge. It was disrespectful of Sam to send someone without enough experience to keep his emotions in check. What if the kid lost it and shifted right there on the street?

_Then I would kill him_, Jake thought gritting his teeth. He hoped it wouldn't come to that—not only would it be unpleasant for him, but it would certainly start a war. Maybe that was the real test. Maybe it wasn't Henry whose control Sam was curious about.

"We weren't expecting the _girl_," Henry said through much difficulty to keep his tone somewhat calm. He made it quite clear that he didn't think fondly of Renesme.

"Sam should have known better."

Henry smiled, though it looked like he was baring his teeth. "A lot has changed since you left, Black," he growled, eyeing Renesme like she was something a little too tempting.

Jake got off the bike and bore down on Henry. The kid may have grown, but Jake still towered over him. "Is that a threat?"

"No, but this is, stay out of LaPush."

Okay, Jake had pretty much assumed that he would have to stay in Forks—actually, he didn't have much of a desire to enter Sam's territory—but he didn't take too well to threats. In an instant, his hands were shimmering around Henry's throat.

Movement caught Jake's eye, and he looked past Henry to see three more Quileute emerge from the forest wearing nothing but shorts—backup.

"Jake," Renesme whispered, gently touching his arm. She didn't show him an image of anything, she didn't have to. Her cool touch calmed him immediately. Jake pulled his hands away from Henry, and he fixed himself between the shape-shifters and Renesme. It felt wrong to be so threatened by his own kind.

"What's the matter, Black? Not too brave without your precious leaches to back you up, are you?"

Ness's firm grip on Jake's arm kept him where he was, but Henry's comments didn't bother him as much anymore. Ness was sending off waves of calm even as her mortal enemies stared her in the face. She was amazing.

"Go home, Henry, take your little posse with you. The fight you're looking for won't be found."

Jake's calmness surprised the young shape-shifter who took a few steps back towards his friends. "Be seein' ya, Chief." He mock-saluted and jogged to the forest, his back-up joined him.

One of them shouted, "Traitor!" from the comfort of the trees.

"So far so good, wouldn't you say?" Jake joked dryly.

"Don't let them get to you." Ness stroked his tight jaw. His eyes met hers with a hint of mischief. "What?" she asked.

Without any warning, Jake bent down and scooped her up, tossing her over his shoulder. Renesme fought back as he hauled her to Charlie's door. When it became apparent that her tiny fists weren't making an impression on him, she gave up and waited it out.

"Charlie," Jake called at the door, "I brought you something!"

There was no response. Time for a more aggressive attempt.

Jake pounded so hard on the wooden door that it nearly broke, and he shouted, "Chief Swan, I'm calling you out!"

That got a response. Charlie cautiously pulled at the curtain next to the door. His wariness turned to relief when he saw Jake's goofy smile. The door pulled open, and Jake walked right in.

"New paint?" he asked when he was met with a whiff of wet-paint smell.

"Yeah, just finished. What brings you kids out this way?"

"What, aren't you happy to see us?"

"Of course I am, it's just—"

Renesme interrupted him with a giggle from over Jake's shoulder. "Did we come at a bad time, Pop?"

"Huh?" Jake asked as Charlie blushed under his mustache.

"Use your senses, Stupid-head."

Jake tuned in his hearing, and took another whiff of the room. Masked by the paint smell was the more subtle scent of another human. He could hear footsteps coming from the hall.

"Charlie?" Jake asked, eyebrow raised. The footsteps were light, like a woman's.

To confirm his suspicions, a middle-aged woman appeared from the hall. The woman had brown hair that was tied back in a messy do, making her blue eyes pop. She wore paint-stained jeans and a too-large flannel plaid shirt. She was still buttoning the top button when she walked in. "Thanks for the shirt, I—oh. Hello," she said, finally noticing the company.

"Turn me around," Ness demanded, hitting Jake's back. Jake rolled his eyes and turned around so that Ness could see the woman. "Hi," she waved with a broad grin.

"Jake, Ness, this is Lori." Charlie introduced.

"The painter?" Jake asked with his back to the room.

"That's me."

Ness stuck out her hand for Lori. "I'm Ness, Charlie's niece," she introduced. That was the cover-story now that she looked older than her mom, and definitely too old to be Charlie's grand-daughter.

"Nice to meet you," Lori said, shaking her hand.

"This is Jake."

Jake turned around again so that he could greet Lori. "I'm a friend of the family."

"He's Billy's kid," Charlie clarified.

"Jake, of course. Your dad has told me about you."

"Nothing too embarrassing I hope." Jake blushed a little. "Anyway, Charlie, where do you want me to drop this?" he asked, pointing at Renesme.

"Oh, anywhere is fine." Charlie relaxed a little now that the attention was diverted from Lori.

Jake shrugged Renesme from his shoulder, letting her drop to the floor. He knew that with her vampire advantages, she wouldn't even get a bruise. He stretched, and smiled. "That's better."

"Do you two want anything?"

"Nope, I'm good, thanks," Jake answered, laughing at the death-glare Ness was giving him.

"A glass of water would be great, thanks Charlie."

Charlie hurried off to get Renesme's drink, leaving her and Jake alone with Lori.

"So, uh, are you and Charlie—"

"Jake!"

"Yes, we're dating," Lori answered with a bemused smile. She had a certain twinkle in her eyes that apologised for nothing. That, and the way her eyes crinkled from a life-time of laughter, left Jake with a good impression.

"Does Bella know?" Jake asked. Either Bella refrained from telling them anything about this, or Charlie was going to get another visit from his daughter, soon.

"Charlie didn't want her to know until he was sure this was going somewhere. She seemed pretty stressed when she was here."

Charlie returned with Ness's water and effectively killed the conversation. Renesme thanked Charlie for the water, took one small sip of it, and then dumped the rest over Jake's head. The cool water was like ice down his neck and he jumped a foot in the air.

"Now we're even," Ness told him, laughing. "Clean it up."

Jake rolled his eyes, but he went to get a towel. Before he walked away, however, he made sure to muss up Ness's already helmet crinkled hair.

"Charlie and I were just about to go out for lunch. Would you two like to join us?"

Ness answered "Yes," at the same time Jake answered, "Where?"

"There's a new seafood place on the beach out in LaPush."

"Sounds great, I love seafood," Ness answered before Jake could speak up.

"Um, Ness, a word?"

Jake pulled Renesme back to a corner, and turned his back on Charlie and Lori.

"Do you remember the conversation we had with Henry not five minutes ago?"

"Do you honestly think that Sam would order someone to hurt us? C'mon, Jake, get real."

"We can't go. Like it or not, we need their help. Even if Henry isn't going to make good on his threat, it would be best if we could stay on good terms."

"Can you just consider for one second what blissful gift has been dropped on our laps? Pop has a _date_, and we have been invited. It's just too weird to pass up."

"Ness." Jake could feel the cables between them thickening. She really wanted this. He sighed and rubbed his temples, fighting her for even a second was giving him a headache. "Fine, but if they kill us—"

"I know, I know, my dad will kill you."

"You seem a little too cool about that."

Renesme smiled and patted his cheek. "You'll just have to make sure that nothing happens to me then."

Jake rolled his eyes and turned to Charlie. "We're in so long as you're picking up the tab."

Renesme's smile was like the sun on his back.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Just to bring you back up to speed since it has been a while since I have posted—**Renesme broke up with Jake, and started dating Shane, a boy from one of her classes. A little while later, Seth showed up with Leah's resignation, and news of a huge vampire coven sweeping through North America, heading in their direction. Jake decided to give Sam a call to see if he could help out—Sam's pack has grown a lot since Breaking Dawn. Right now, Jake and Renesme are in Forks/LaPush in order to meet with Sam.** That should be everything you need to know up to this point. For any other information—like why Renesme broke up with Jake—you are going to have to re-read the chapters. Sorry, but I'm not going to write the whole thing again in this author note. As always, I hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to review. As long as it's constructive, I am not adverse to criticism, in fact, I welcome it.**

Jake was edgy as he and Renesme bounced around in the back of Charlie's cruiser. The roads were in worse shape than he remembered. Still, he preferred it to the bike, or running. There was strength in numbers, right? Sam wouldn't dare attack them in front of Charlie and Lori, right? There were too many variables.

"Charlie, these cruisers are bullet proof, right?" Jake asked. They were getting terrifyingly close to the territory line.

"Nope, why? You expecting to get shot?" Charlie's eyebrow shot up in the mirror.

"Just wondering," Jake grumbled. Renesme was chewing her lip, but not in worry, she was trying to hide her smile. It wasn't often that she got to see him nervous, and it was too funny to not enjoy. Growing up around werewolves and vampires—and being half-vampire—wasn't good for her sense of mortality.

"How long has it been since you've been back?" Lori asked from the front seat.

Jake thought about it for a second, it had been a long time since he had been in Forks, and even longer since he had stepped foot on the rez. "Too long," he answered, but as warning howls ripped the air, he wondered if it hadn't been long enough.

As soon as the howling started, Jake felt calm. Renesme was no longer trying to conceal a smile. Her eyebrows were pulled as she chewed her lip in concern. "Don't worry," Jake told her, "wolves don't eat people."

Charlie stared at him through the mirror. His eyes seemed to ask, _what about whatever the both of you are?_ Jake shrugged and shook his head. They would find out soon.

One positive thing about being in a possibly very deadly situation was that Ness refused to let go of Jake's hand. He couldn't help thinking that things couldn't be going better if he had planned them that way.

The restaurant was busy, but not full. There were still plenty of tables, and they were seated right away. Jake scanned the room before he sat down. Mostly it was old people -Retirees, and the sort to be home during the middle of the day on a weekday—but in the back corner a familiar face caught his eye. Paul was snacking on french-fries, and it was obvious he wasn't there for the food. His eyes stared Jake down intently. Paul nodded, and focused his attention on his food. Jake breathed his relief. The pack was going to allow them this time.

Ness had lied to Lori. She absolutely hated seafood. It tasted salty, but not in a good way, not like blood. She had hoped that since her fish and chips were battered and fried, it wouldn't be so bad. She was wrong. Instead, the batter soaked up the fish taste. The fries were cooked in the same oil as the fish, making the whole meal unbearable. She had watched her family choke down human food when the occasion necessitated it—like when she had brought Shane home. It had been fun at the time, until it came time to chew her out for it—the food had put them into an even worse mood. Now she could see nothing fun about it. She was so thirsty. While she didn't need to drink blood to survive, it was like lemonade on a hot day. It quenched something inside of her. Her craving for blood made her cranky.

Jake did nothing to help her quickly deteriorating mood. He grinned as she picked and sighed and frowned at her food. She supposed that she deserved it, at the very least, after all she was putting him through.

"So, Jake, Charlie tells me that you're friends with his daughter, Bella," Lori made an attempt at conversation. The lunch hadn't been nearly as interesting as Ness had thought.

"Yeah, we've known each other for a long time now. She's been nice enough to let me live above her garage while I finish school." That was the story. Jake was a charity case. He didn't get to have the story of old, family money, like Bella and Edward. He got to be the old friend that they couldn't get rid of. The one that sleeps on the couch until they finally got him his own room because it was obvious he wasn't going anywhere. That much was true. He was that guy who was impossible to get rid of, but Jake liked to think that it was for a much better reason. He was staying for her, for Ness, and nothing could ever make him leave.

"And you, Ness?"

"I live with them too. Bella and I were always close as kids." She had been warned loads of times that it was safer to give as little information as possible. There was enough evidence fabricated to prove that Charlie did have a brother, and he and his wife did have a daughter, but then it got a little shady. Until that moment, there hadn't been anyone that needed to believe it.

"That's really generous of Bella and Edward, to share their home so soon after getting married."

Of course it had been seven years since their wedding, but because they looked so young, they got to be newlyweds for eternity—unless they enrolled in high-school, then they were just dating. There were so many lies to keep up with, Jake's brain hardly had room for the truth any more.

"Yeah, they've been great," Jake said perhaps just a bit too blandly.

Just then, Ness's cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She dug it out to see who it was. A smile glowed on her face, and Jake's heart sank. If it had been one of the vampires, she wouldn't have looked so happy.

"Sorry, but I have to take this," she apologised to Charlie and Lori. Jake felt excluded from the apology.

"Who was that?" Charlie asked Jake, half hoping it was Bella, but also hoping it wasn't. He was going to be in trouble with his daughter when they told her that he was dating someone and never told her.

"Shane," Jake grumbled, "Ness's new boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? I thought you two—" One look from Jake shut him up.

"Excuse me for a moment." Jake didn't want to sit there with two sets of pity-filled eyes watching him. He couldn't keep ignoring Paul at any rate.

"Paul," he greeted, taking a seat at the same table as his old pack-mate, and brother-in-law.

"Jake."

"I thought you were out, because of Rachel and all."

"I am. Moved to Seattle four years ago, not that you would know. It really freaks Rachel out that you never check in. She's always asking about you." Paul's hands were shaking a bit.

"Still haven't got that under control, huh?"

"Twenty seven months and going strong."

"Why are you here, Paul? You're probably the one person in the pack that couldn't hurt me or Ness."

"Sam asked me for a favor. He thought that you'd be happier to have me follow you than one of the new pups. Besides, Rachel wants me to tell her that you're okay, and I couldn't do that if I didn't see for myself."

"I'm fine. It has been a pretty quiet seven years, and you can tell her that."

"No, you can when you and your bloo—when you and Renesme come for Thanksgiving. She does eat, right? I mean real food?"

"Yeah, she eats. But—"

"No buts, you're coming. Rachel's going to make a bird and everything. If you don't come, I'll kill every last one of your precious Cullen's." The threat was exaggerated, and Jake knew it. It sounded more like a fantasy than anything else.

"Wow, repressed much?"

"Just come, okay? It would make your sister really happy."

"Fine, I'll see what I can do."

"Good." Paul stood up and popped the last french-fry into his mouth. "Sam says eight-o-clock behind Charlie's. You'll hear them."

"Eight?"

"If he's not back to read the bed-time stories to his kids, Emily'll make him sleep in the dog house."

"Ah. How are the kids?"

Paul shrugged and tossed a couple of bucks down on the table for the fries. "See you for Thanksgiving dinner, five-o-clock sharp." He tossed down a sheet of paper that was clearly for Jake.

Jake picked up the piece of paper as Paul walked away. It was his and Rachel's address in Seattle.


End file.
